Decentralization in Asia: Survey

摘要

Decentralization has been popular in governance reform around the world for some decades now. The trend gained momentum in the 1980s and reached new heights during the early 2000s (Malesky, Nguyen, & Tran, 2012 Malesky, E.J., Nguyen, C.V., & Tran A. (2012). The economic impact of recentralization: A quasi-experiment on abolishing elected councils in Vietnam. Mimeo. October 23,http://www.papi.vn/sites/default/files/docs/MaleskyTranCuong_DPC_10_1_2012_em.pdf. Viewed 15.01.13.. [Google Scholar]). Its spread accompanied the spread of privatization and deregulation within broader neoliberal efforts to roll back the state. As a part of the broader trend, governments began to shift responsibilities not only outwards to the private sector but also downwards to lower levels of government. Curiously, both Left and Right were equally enthusiastic about decentralization, unlike privatization and deregulation that were vehemently opposed by the Left.